10 Most Insane Wrestling Magazine Covers Ever

3. Raw Magazine, March/April 1997

Kamala Hulk Hogan
WWE

Cover Star(s): Goldust, Marlena

Headline(s): 'GOLDUST AND MARLENA, A LOVE STORY FOR THE AGES', 'EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS!!! WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY, THE CHILLING REBIRTH OF THE UNDERTAKER'

Notes: Only Raw Magazine's second sexually evocative cover, the March/April 1997 edition actually selected one of the more tamer shots from Goldust and Marlena's naked husband and wife photoshoot that wound up as the first to include a man in a centrefold image.

Leering down the lens, the shoot was publicised to join up with the television product at the time, which sought to aggressively undo the gay aspects of the Goldust gimmick in an effort to round him out as a newly-minted babyface. The concept seems thoroughly distasteful now, but the company saw nothing indecent in having him assault Jerry Lawler after admitting he wasn't 'queer', only for 'The King' to refer to him as a 'flaming f*g' in response later that spring.

Twenty years on and a storyline of this nature would thankfully never make air, but with this shoot, the company at least went went all in to maintain the 'bizarre' element of Dustin Runnels' engaging portrayal alongside his more conventional real life as a married father.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett